La PINE, Ore. (KTVZ) — If conditions are favorable on Thursday, Bend-Fort Rock Ranger District firefighters plan to conduct up to 395 acres of ignitions on the Thor Prescribed Burn Units 6 and 7, located about five miles northeast of La Pine, near Ogden Group Camp and McKay Crossing Campground. Ignitions are planned for Thursday
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The City of Bend’s Water Services Department’s 2024 Water Quality Consumer Confidence Report is now available, city officials said Monday. The report shows that City customers’ drinking water continues to meet all health standards and that the City is 100% compliant in water quality testing and in meeting and exceeding water
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — NatureConnect Central Oregon, formerly known as Central Oregon’s Children’s Forest, announced Monday that it will assume operational and fiscal responsibility for the historic Skyliners Lodge, effective July 1. The High Desert Education Service District, which had announced earlier it would return the permit to the U.S. Forest Service, said it will
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) – Last year, Oregon had one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in its history—1.9 million acres burned, communities were tested, and lives were changed. But amid the devastation, there were also stories of resilience: homes that stood strong because they had defensible space. As May marks Wildfire Awareness Month, the Oregon
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — On Wednesday at around 1 p.m., the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office and Deschutes County 911 will be sending a test message to people signed up for Deschutes Alerts. Here’s the full announcement from county Emergency Services Manager Lt. Nathan Garibay: Deschutes Alerts is the notification system we use to alert people
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – Bend Park and Recreation District is opening the application process for the Kids Inc. after-school care program. BPRD’s Kids Inc. program operates in all Bend elementary schools (except Amity Creek and Westside Village). Next year, it will operate after school daily until 5:30 p.m. for K-5th graders. The Kids Inc. application
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(Update: Adding video) WARM SPRINGS (KTVZ) — The 30th Tribal Council of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs was sworn in Monday. Following tradition, the ceremony included singing, dancing and prayers to begin the day, as hundreds of Warm Springs members gathered in the sunshine outside of the Warm Springs Public Administration building. After the
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(Update: adding video) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Attorney General Dan Rayfield as part of his series of federal oversight forums, paid a visit to Bend on Saturday. He was joined by Congresswoman Janelle Bynum, state Senator Anthony Broadman, and state Representative Jason Kropf to address questions related to their actions to counteract the federal funding
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SALEM, Ore. (KTVZ) — Governor Tina Kotek announced Friday the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Oregon State Fire Marshal and the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety, launching a partnership to explore ways to build resilience within Oregon communities, encouraging adoption and implementation at the neighborhood scale. “The 2024 wildfire season
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WASHINGTON (KTVZ) — Senator Jeff Merkley, D-Oregon, announced Friday he will hold three town halls for Central Oregonians in Jefferson, Crook and Deschutes counties on Saturday, May 10, just over a month after postponing the visit due to a change in the Senate’s voting schedule. Merkley will be joined by Rep. Janelle Bynum, D-Oregon, for the
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LA PINE, Ore. (KTVZ)– Just outside the city limits of La Pine, in the dense forest that surrounds the community, you won’t find wild animals enjoying their habitat. Instead, homeless camps. Deputies with the Deschutes County Sheriff’s Office showed the Problem Solvers first-hand the camps set up right outside of town. “This is a camp
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PORTLAND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The wait is over! The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has announced it will reopen the popular Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program on Thursday, May 22. Here’s the full news release announcing the program’s resumption: In even more exciting news, the program will remain open longer this year due to funds awarded to DEQ last
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PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Oregon Department of Forestry’s Central Oregon District reported Friday it’s seeing an uptick in escaped debris burn piles, with several over the past few weeks burning up to 30 acres in size. For example, a recent 8-acre fire resulted from a week-old burn pile that was assumed to be out
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The gate on China Hat Road south of Bend swung shut early Thursday, closing a large area of homeless encampments on the Deschutes National Forest as dozens of people who had been living there, some for years, scrambled to leave and take as many belongings as possible to wherever they go next.
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EUGENE, Ore. (KTVZ) — A federal judge who refused to grant an emergency court order to block the removal of dozens of homeless residents from the Deschutes National Forest south of Bend explained his reasoning in a ruling filed Thursday, offering sympathy for their plight but saying the forest health and fuels-reduction project is crucial
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(Update: Adding video) BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — The Deschutes National Forest said Thursday it will install a new, permanent boat dock at Crane Prairie Reservoir May 8-9. The Crane Prairie boat launch will be temporarily closed during installation to provide for public safety. The new, permanent boat dock will provide improved access and will not
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(update: adding video) PRINEVILLE, Ore. (KTVZ) – The debate surrounding PacifiCorp’s Blueprint South Transmission Line Project, continues. Crook County Community Development Director Will Van Vactor introduced in Wednesday’s work session a draft letter to the Crook County commissioners in support of Route D. Even though there has already been push back from residents southeast
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Firefighters with the Sisters Ranger District ignited 64 acres in a prescribed fire Wednesday on Sisters Area Fuels Reduction Unit 4 four miles south of Sisters along Forest Service Road 1505.
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BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) — Central Oregon users of a popular website and smartphone app to track the latest fires, crashes and other emergencies were alerted twice in 24 hours to a reported structure fire at a large local store – but it turned out to be a pair of tech hiccups, nothing more. The alerts
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On the eve of the Deschutes National Forest’s closure of nearly 36,000 acres south of Bend for fuels reduction work – and the deadline for over 100 homeless people living off China Hat Road to move elsewhere – the controversy is drawing national attention from critics of the plan.
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